Last weekend, we hosted a large party to celebrate a big family birthday. Ever the optimists, we assumed that spring weather would be on our side. We invited 60 guests to join outdoor celebrations in our garden. Unfortunately, the unpredictable British weather turned against us. With a meagre 8° Celsius (46° Fahrenheit) and intermittent drizzles, even our heated marquee did little to keep us warm. We did our best to defy the harsh conditions with a plentiful supply of hot drinks and warming food. Yet, I spent the better part of the day apologising to our guests, who were putting on brave faces, while huddling up in big winter coats.

It wasn’t until the day after that my feelings of guilt began to dissipate. I was woken by the sounds of heavy rain drops drumming against the skylights of our home. It was pouring down with rain and temperatures had dropped another few degrees. I quickly dawned on me: Things could have been a whole lot worse on the day of our party! Imagining how things might have turned out differently provided immediate relief.

It could have been worse. This simple thought is an example of what psychologists refer to as “counterfactual thinking”. Broadly speaking, this type of thinking describes human attempts to consider how things may have turned out differently. It involves imagining hypothetical, alternative scenarios........

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